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Boston Awards $26 million for Affordable Housing

On February 20, Mayor Walsh announced more than $26 million in awards for affordable housing developments in Boston from the Community Preservation Fund, the Department of Neighborhood Development, and the Neighborhood Housing Trust. The awards will create and preserve 515 units of housing in 10 developments in Brighton, East Boston, Dorchester, Mattapan, Mission Hill, the North End, and Roxbury. The new funding will also contribute to affordable housing programming like the Acquisition Opportunity Program and the Boston Home Center.

The new funding will create 459 new units and preserve 56 units of housing. 290 units that will be created or preserved will be restricted to households with low, moderate, and middle income. The majority of these units will be accessible to households with incomes up to 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), which amounts to $65,000 or less for a family of four. The new units are a combination of homeownership and rental opportunities with some set aside for formerly homeless households, seniors, and artists. For the homeownership opportunities, first-time homebuyers earning between 70-100 percent of AMI will receive down payment assistance, the opportunity to take a home buying class, and financial and real estate counseling.

Funds to create and preserve these units will be awarded from three sources: the first, of approximately $4.4 million, consists of funds administered by the Department of Neighborhood Development. The second source, of approximately $3.6 million, utilizes funds from the Neighborhood Housing Trust (NHT), which are collected through the City's Linkage policy, extracting affordable housing funds from developers of large commercial projects.

The third source utilizes funds from the Community Preservation Fund, of approximately $18 million, which are collected through the CPA's one percent property tax surcharge adopted by Boston voters in 2016 to invest in affordable housing, historic preservation, and open space.

The developer will create 20 mixed-income condominium units, including 12 deed-restricted units available to first-time homebuyers. 6 of the units will be for homebuyers who earn up to 100% of Area Median Income and 6 of the units will be for homebuyers who earn up to 80% of Area Median Income. The federal government currently deems 80% AMI to be approximately $75,000 for a family of three. The project will be developed on land owned by Harvard University that has been donated for the purpose of creating affordable homeownership opportunities.

DORCHESTER

Dudley Terrace, Developer: Dorchester Bay EDC

The developer will preserve 56 transit-oriented affordable units in the Upham's Corner and the Savin Hill neighborhoods of Dorchester. This scattered-site development will be rehabilitated to address immediate health and safety issues and critical systems upgrades. Through this redevelopment, the developer hopes to add additional homeless set-aside and supportive housing units.

The developer will create 40 units of mixed-income housing including nine deed-restricted home ownership units that will be available to households earning 80-100% AMI, or from about $77,000 to $97,000 for three persons. The Morton Station Village will also feature a serenity park to honor the memory of the late Steven P. Odom, and is being built on formerly City-owned land.

MISSION HILL

Terrace Street Artist Apartments, Developer: Primary Development

The developer is proposing to build 13 home ownership units in City-owned land with live/work space for qualified artists earning between 70-80% AMI, or between $60,000 and almost $70,000 for a two-person household.

The developer proposes to create 52 units of housing, including 42 units restricted to Bostonians over the age of 55 who earn at or below 80% of AMI, or $69,000 for a two person household. This development also includes five units of housing for formerly homeless Bostonians. Lot D is part of the Bartlett Station redevelopment of the former MBTA bus yard in Dudley Square, and is being built on City-controlled land.

This is the second of three phases of the Whittier Choice Neighborhood project, which is a redevelopment of the existing Whittier Street Apartments as part of the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative. This phase proposes to build 52 units rental housing, of which 48 will be affordable or workforce housing.

The developer is proposing a 25-story residential and commercial tower that will include 193 market-rate units and 48 affordable income-restricted units to those earning below 50% of Area Median Income, or less than $50,000 for a household of three persons.

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